The Chainsmokers Continue To Rule The Dance Charts Like No Act In History

DJs Alex Pall (L) and Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers arrive for the 2017 Billboard Music Awards at the T-Mobile Arena on May 21, 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Everybody knows The Chainsmokers, and everybody knows that The Chainsmokers are one of the hottest acts in music today. What many music lovers might not realize is that the DJ duo aren't just performing well on radio and on the all-genre charts, where songs like "Closer" ruled with an extremely tight grip...they're running the show over on the dance-specific rankings like nobody ever has. Sure, one would expect an act like The Chainsmokers to rise to the top of the charts with hit songs like "Closer," "Don't Let Me Down" and "Something Just Like This," but could anybody have predicted they would do as well as they have, or that they would wind up owning as many historical records as they do now?

Most No. 1s

The Chainsmokers have now sent six different songs to the No. 1 position on the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, with most of those chart-toppers rising to the peak within the past year or so. They first reached the summit back in 2014 with their breakout single “#SELFIE,” which was regarded as something of a catchy joke tune at the time (and ever since). They hit No. 1 again less than two years later with “Roses,” and then their streak continued with songs like “Don’t Let Me Down,” “Closer,” “Paris” and now “Something Just Like This.”

Next up when it comes to the artists with the most leaders are Clavin Harris and Zedd, both of whom have sent a trio of singles to the top.

Longest-Running No. 1

It should come as no surprise that the longest-running No. 1 hit on the chart’s relatively short lifetime (it was established by Billboard back in 2013) belongs to the pairing as well. The nostalgic pop track "Closer," which controlled the all-genre Hot 100 for 12 weeks in 2016, lasted even longer atop the Hot Dance/Electronic Songs listing, where it was in charge for an incredible 27 weeks. That is one week greater than the run Avicii’s “Wake Me Up” managed a few years prior, and it’s possible that it may wind up being a record that is never broken.

Most Weeks At No. 1

In addition to scoring the longest-running No. 1 on the chart, The Chainsmokers have also collected the most weeks atop the tally, and the competition can’t come close. The production duo has now racked up just over 65 weeks at No. 1 between the six leaders they claim, and that number will surely rise. Even if “Something Just Like This” starts to drop next week, Alex Pall and Drew Taggart are sure to see future songs climb the list at some point.

It’s a specific place in charting history, to be sure, but it underlines just how popular all of the singles released by the production duo have been. Billboard revealed recently that The Chainsmokers are the first act in history to chart four songs that have seen their reign last for double digit frames. Plenty of other artists have managed to hold on at the top for at least 10 weeks with a hit song, such as Avicii (“Wake Me Up”), Major Lazer (“Lean On”) and Daft Punk (“Get Lucky”), but none have been able to do so several times.

I am a freelance music journalist based in New York City. My byline has appeared in The Huffington Post, Billboard, Mashable, Noisey, The Hollywood Reporter, MTV, Fuse, and dozens of other magazines and blogs around the world. I love following charts and the biggest and most...